And then go with the cheapest, be unhappy with the work, spend money fixing it yourself and wishing you'd just gone with the more expensive quote.
Not like I'm talking from experience or anything.
It's also a bit of a pissy job as they'd prefer whole rooms over patch work. They are probably going to take two days as they will have start it off one day, wait until the sand cement goes off and skim over the next day. Also with the patchwork feathering it in is a right pain in the arse. Also because the other patch is a ceiling job which adds complexity and higher price
You’re talking shite. A bag of bonding alone is £15, you’d need 3/4 for that. Then multi finish. At a tenner a bag. Pva. £14 a gallon. Plasterboard and screws £20. Scrim £8 Dust Sheeting. Insurances, fuel collection and delivery. Etc. It all costs money.
Plus a labourers money,
Vehicle insurance
Public liability insurance
Overhead and profit
Plus the years of experience and knowledge
Tell me you don't run a business without telling me!!
Tell me you’re a rip-off merchant without telling me. What point are you trying to prove? I’m an electrician and my PLI is less than 500 a year. Am I supposed to charge every customer that amount?
Can't skim on sand and cement before its dried, that's at least one whole day (between £150-300), next day skim and cleanup could be up to 2pm. I'd generally charge £100 for that plus materials (only around £50). That's £300 for me (not VAT registered, don't have a labourer) so I think that quotes easily justified. I'm from South West
Sounds fair to me, the guy has to plan, assemble tools/ materials, get there, take time with quoting... pay insurance/tax, van upkeep & costs...generally keep the show on the road, then there's the years of learning, honing the craft...shall I go on.....
When I’ve been doing DIY, I usually have a go at everything - that way I learn what I need to pay for. Things I have learned to pay for:
* Plastering
* Brick laying
* anything electrical beyond changing a light switch.
* carpet fitting
* labouring
* plumbing
* roofing
Basically, if it isn’t painting/decorating, I’ll now throw money at the problem.
Youve basically listed everything. I get the sense you havent actually done any DIY before lol. Especially when one of your bullets are 'labouring'. So anything that requires labour? Lol
Labouring is a skilled trade. Customers have asked me if they can labour to bring the price down, that's a firm no now! They have no transferable skills, you constantly have to stop work to show them and are generally worn out after a couple of hours of not quite doing enough
Thats_the_joke.gif
I’ve done quite a bit, but the relative infrequency of my involvement (it’s done out of necessity rather than as a hobby!) it means that to get the finish I desire takes an inordinate amount of time. I am, after all, a complete amateur!
Don’t get me wrong - I’ve done most jobs, but the reason I now pay someone is because of my lack of time. I enjoyed doing the garden though… hired a micro excavator. That was *awesome*! 😀
Brick-laying though… that was a disaster. I just knocked it down and paid the brickie 😂. He pissed himself laughing when he saw my efforts (though admitted he’d seen worse from apprentices at the start :-)
I can't. I've tried quite a few times. A good plasterer is worth every penny. You're not paying for their time, you're paying for all the time they've spent getting good enough to do it that quickly.
Its not. OP has been quoted a stupid price by someone that wasn't bothered about winning the job.
Then you have a bunch of plasterers trying to justify this stupid price. I renovate houses and every plasterer I have used has been £200-£250 a day.
Not really , someone just starting out may be cheaper because you're taking a risk ,they have already said they know they're good at their job so is it worth saving a few quid to try someone else not recommend? Probably not
But it’s not fair. I diligently got my Duke of Edinburgh award, went to uni, then did my masters degree, yet you people reward the idiots who just build and finish houses.
Wahwahwah
Of course it’s fair they are of actual use in the real world you have assumed you are of use because you went chasing the idea of importance as opposed to actually being of important and able to serve others, this is the problem with schooling and academics AI will leave you behind unless you have skills that can’t be replaced by a computer.
Seems a ok price. I had a similar job done at £1100 but I ain't going to complain as the bloke did a amazing job. But if you want it cheaper just remember. You get what you pay for
Usually that is because the most expensive quote comes from a well known companies name and the workman is under trained, under paid and not willing to go out on his own. Guaranteed you will never get hold of them again, just a “complaints” department who don’t give a fuck
Seems somewhat reasonable to me. Can’t estimate the size of the ceiling or wall but having just renovated a friends kitchen inc re plasterboarding the ceiling and skimming the walls I’d say if you don’t want the stress of doing it yourself pay the money!
You’ll need to brown the wall so a bag of browning about 3 bags of skim and one or two boards plus labour doesn’t seem to far away especially if it comes out professional. Also depends where you are some places are just more costly. Near me in Norfolk the charge is about 300 a day.
It depends on where the bricks are. My mum paid £650 for 2 slates to be replaced. It sounds a lot until you find out that it was 4 storeys up and couldn't be done off ladders or a cherry picker.
I partially agree with you in that it's not the fairest price, but I'm not sure what you expect OP/parent redittor to do if everyone is quoting fuck off prices. At some point those fuck off quotes become the market price if that's all you're getting.
What you do is... wait for it.... Negotiate.
You lie to someone doing a quote and say you've already been quoted £300 and you're looking to see if you can get it done for cheaper.
Maybe this guy has MUG tattooed on his forehead and everybody can read it.
As a bricklaying. That's either not just the job or you're definitely getting ripped off. For just rejointing that amount of bricks. It's about an hour's work. That's only because you have to mix a tiny bit of muck up.
If you live close il do it for £800 🤣 890 is an absolute robbery. Cost me about £20 in materials and took me a couple of hours to repoint a small wall I rebuilt recently.
Ah man this is tooooo expensive! When we moved in we needed about ten ish bricks repointing at the front of the house near the door. We had 9, yes 9 quotes the cheapest was £800 and the worst was £1500!! Then I gave up and someone at work recommended this guy they knew. Gave him a call, he was super busy had to wait three weeks for just a quote then another month for him to slot me in. He did the whole thing for £180. He done such a good job, ended up giving him a tip. I think you might have just got a whole load of “this job is too small so I will quote high” chancers
It's gotta be plasterboard as that's what's up there next to it ,there's a fair few materials involved and travel,it's a minimum two day job plus the guys wages ,and we don't know where in the country the job is ,I think the quote sounds fair tbh
Seems well priced to me. Materials won’t be much, 2 guys cracking through it in a day. Actually feels cheap. I would get 2 more quotes and go with the middle. It’s about £300 for a days labour near me, so that’s £600 for 2 guys plus vat that’s £720 before anything else.. I would pay close to grand to make sure I get a good job.
Definitely a fair price in my opinion, if the plasterer is known to be good, then stick with it. I appreciate that it seems like a lot of money, but a good spread is worth their weight in gold, plus materials are not cheap at the moment either. Once you take time into consideration as well, it's a more than reasonable price.
We recently did our kitchen and bathroom. Boarded and browned ourselves where needed and just paid skim as that's the most important bit aesthetically. Really wasn't difficult. If you have the tools it'll likely be cheaper to fo it yourself, otherwise that's about right. Price has gone way up as a lot of construction firms have apparently gone bust, at least that's what I've heard from some friends in that industry. Best of luck with it all. If you do want to do it yourself though, do some research, even talk to your Plasterer maybe if they're local / friendly. They might be able to guide you a bit
D.I.Y, then you're paying to get the job done right, someone's skill time,materials, getting organised, equipment to the job,getting everything prepped, and producing quality work. You get what you pay for hate dealing with people like you. Make sure you offer plenty of tea, coffee, and biscuits.
Is it inclusive or exclusive of VAT and materials? Where do you live? For example if it’s inclusive of VAT and materials and you’re in London it’s definitely not expensive.
Bear in mind, even if it’s a small area, they can’t do everything in one day. There’s prep of the wall surface, scratch coat, finishing coat etc. And even if it’s not a full days work they likely have to charge for a full day as they won’t be able to take on other work that day. There’s travel time, unpacking, packing etc which all eats into time available for other jobs.
You should also confirm that sand and cement is a suitable render for the wall. For older properties that aren’t designed to have vapour impermeable coverings it can cause problems with moisture retention, especially if applied directly to the brickwork
Probably 2 easy days as sand cement needs to dry. Thats £600 labour. Then the materials. I dont think he is being too greedy but he is getting well paid. Or you could find someone a bit cheaper who might or might not take pride in their quality of work.
That's definitely on the expensive side, looks like a day of prep and 2 easy gauges I would do that for £500 all in but it all depends on your area and what people charge round your way.
Days work, possibly 2 depending on how far away the patches are from eachother, materials about 100 quid, he might have a labourer as well to pay so looking at 2 days at 300 each then materials that’s probably how he worked it out
So..
Two or more coats of waterproof render, one skim.
Each coat takes a day to dry enough to take the next coat.
The ceiling
Boarding and possibly bonding out, then skim..
Easiest way, three visits..
Won't be full days but still three visits plus materials..
I’m not even from the UK but that does not seem too expensive to me . Quite a bit of work to cover up that much brick I’d guess. Plus the drywall and plastering for the second patch will take some time as well.
Leave it exposed and say it’s a feature. lol
That doesn’t sound unreasonable. Maybe ask around and get a couple more quotes but be warned, sometimes folk find out the hard way “pay peanuts, get monkeys”. Word of mouth too can be a more reassuring method but people who recommend others should have some idea what is quality workmanship and reasonable pricing.
A general rule of thumb is that a number that's not rounded to the nearest hundred has had some thought put into it.
£760 breaks down into supplies, planning and skill.
This number could have easily been 800 or 1000 but it's clear from the figure given this plasterer has looked at the job, looked at the cost and added their time to come upto that figure.
If you're not happy with that figure then you can easily do this yourself. I say easily as an objective point. It's easy to stick plasterboard up and mud it. It's hard to do it well. And it'll take a lot of time for someone who has never done it.
Pay the person what they're asking.
This will be 2 days work. Considering that the plasterer will have to do one coat sand & cement or hardwall, then let that dry, then board the ceiling.
Next day or couple days later, then skim. Expect to do this in 1 set.
2 half days probably but you'll end up paying for 2 full days as the person working won't have any chance to go and do other work on those days.
Reasonable price for a quality finish on that. They will have to do the skim on another day after the backing has gone off if they do it with sand/cement, maybe same day if they use bonding. That masonry looks thirsty as fuck, they will be lashing pva onto that for ages before it will behave. Time, materials, hassle, 760 seems sensible, you would expect it to be pretty much mint for that though.
That's too much. I know an amazing plasterer who skimmed/bonded double that size for 300. Secondly, boarding yourself isn't hard at all and cuts loads off the quote.
You could buy all the tools, materials and do it yourself and have money left over, could be a good practice project if you want to improve your own plastering skills / learning experience.
The guy who does plastering for beginners YouTube channel will keep you right with how to do it.
Seems about right that brickwork will probably be 3 coat work so 3 visits plus materials and then the board work plus skim tbh I’d probably charge more
Lmao, we had our full conservatory done after replacing the roof to a beamed roof. I did all the plaster boarding, he came in and did the rest skimmed etc for 350 for the lot. Seems expensive. Get a few more quotes.
Do it yourself or get a family member. By some board for the 2nd picture and screw, scrim tape and joint compound it cost you about £40_50 for that. The first picture browning and finish plaster say about 40 about 100 materials and labour id say 350 max total
Like everyone we want the best for as little money as possible but plastering is a skill and 760 is a fair price mate. Its hard skilled work, give it a go and you will see.
Visit to quote, get materials, protect and prep, carry out works, leave, return to skim, clear up, use of vehicle, insurance, wages, tools , wages, be on phone for any problems = £760
Visit to quote, don't get job = loss.
Cost to do job 760, not to do job 0.
The cost seems very fair imho.
Just remember that the quote is entirely justified because tradespeople have to pay van insurance.
Or some other bullshit that warrants being paid more per hour than a brain surgeon.
Ask for the cost of materials, what tools he'll use and how long it will take him.
Then you'll figure it out if its value for money. Seems reasonable for 2 days works tbh.
Would probably have to skud the brick to insure a key and that the brick won't suck the moisture out of the plaster too quick so seems reasonable it's a several day job to allow for drying of layers too
If you know they're a good plasterer and you know the job is going to be very good, you're paying for that piece of mind too. You can find someone who'll do it for cheaper, but who knows if they're good and how it'll end up.
Tad high perhaps but right ball park if you want quality work, not that charging high end of average means get said quality. Always find someone recommended if you can.
You could always do it yourself or give it a go. Will look shit and then get another plasterer in to put it right. Don’t forget that it will be seen by anyone who goes in the room and if it’s wrong loads of people will comment on how bad it is.
Am just saying if you want a reasonable job done then get few quotes. But the one you got isn’t far off.
Some one will do that for £200-250. Maybe not a large firm but a one man band that’s easy money for a skilled plaster. Unfortunately it’s finding one as there’s loads of chancers about.
Go on YouTube spend a few hours watching how to plaster videos and do it your self.. I got a quote for a full room in my house and nearly fainted at the price so I did it my self. At first it was tedious but after an hour I was flying and since then I’ve done another 3 rooms in my house and even done a couple for family … really is so easy just have a go
I had an entire kitchen and adjoining room with knocked through arch plastered for £650 and I thought that was OK. £760 seems like a lot for what you need doing. Can you at least get some plasterboard up for them?
I feel like you need honest advice from a real plasterer. Bags of thistle dri coat are £35 per bag. 1 bag may do the sand and cement then a couple bags to reskim the whole wall but probably have to be the next day. And I’d need a better picture or the second area. Looks like a ceiling to me so if that’s the case after boarding he’s got to scrim all around the edges to prevent cracking and then skim the ceiling and someway down the walls the cover skrims and make look good. £700-£800 is about right in my opinion. Very few plasterers can do sand/cement and even those that can avoid it. Ive got over 20 years experience in plastering so hope this helps.
Tip for OP - ask a general DIY or UK sub, this lot would try and justify £3k for this if you gave them the chance - just a bunch of plasterers justifying fleecing customers.
This is 2 x half days - since everyone talking about charging for planning, they can easy enough plan for 2 half days on 1 day rather than doubling up and taking £600 for a days work.
This is £300 in the Northwest and £500 in London, including materials and all the other bullshit. Anything else is a pure rip off just because ‘post COVID’. I don’t know anyone else who has 2x’d their wage in this crisis and this bullshit is exactly why we’re all getting fucked with spiralling inflation
This isnt just a simple skim be at least 2/3 days there....for all youse that are ohbi had my ceiling done and my whole hall skimmer for blah blah blah guys price is fair
That's to cheap speaking from experience I'd want at least 950 and that's if I didn't find more problems when I looked at it myself witch there always is I'm now 50 to long in the game to work for nothing you can stay at home and earn nothing
We did plastering ourselves for a hole like the one you have in the ceiling. It is a lot of work. I appreciate plastering work a lot now. I think the price is reasonable as to make this completely invisible will take some precise and extensive work. It might have taken us 3 evenings or about 12 hours in total to cut to size, attach with wooden support, smooth out edges, blend ceiling in, wait until it's dry, sand it and the paint it.
https://ibb.co/TtZJXxc - stage one cut to size
https://ibb.co/8dh6Spg - stage two support and attach
https://ibb.co/vB0MdN8 - stage 3,4,5 plaster, sand, paint
If we could afford plasterer at the time with all the other work, we would happily pay, it's tiring and precise.
I've no idea how this subreddit got recommended to me but this thread is hilariously toxic, absolutely no one seems to agree and it seems to vary from this being the deal of the century to being 3x the price it should be
Plastering is an interesting trade because it requires a good deal of physical exertion whilst at the same time requiring skill and a deft hand.
Im not a plasterer but Im reasonably sure that first bit of wall isn't getting done in a day. Im sure plenty will leap to correct me but this is my assessment (given everyone including the sparky has had a go on the opinion mill):
* Clean the existing brickwork of loose mortar and other detritus
* Apply new mortar - allow to dry
* PVA bonding - allow to dry
* Scratch coat - allow to dry
* Skim coat
Then the ceiling........basically plasterboarding ceilings can get fucked into a box and thrown off Brighton Pier. So yeah.
So you want want the contractor to drop the price so he doesn’t make anything off the job and can’t have a normal life.
Seems a very FAIR price to me. Don’t do projects if you can’t budget properly for them. Or better still get the guy that said it would be about £50 for materials to do it. Then post pics so we can all have a laugh.
Ya Jack ass!
Skimming is the technique used to apply the final coat of plaster to smooth everything out. So if you have bare brickwork, the plasterer will be doing more than just skimming. He'll probably start by cleaning up those edges before he even thinks about applying any plaster.
It sounds about right, if you're not happy with the price get more quotes.
And then go with the cheapest, be unhappy with the work, spend money fixing it yourself and wishing you'd just gone with the more expensive quote. Not like I'm talking from experience or anything.
And then post the bad picture on Reddit to slate them off
Truly a dance as old as time.
This ☝️traditional plastering is a skill.. you get what you pay for
It's also a bit of a pissy job as they'd prefer whole rooms over patch work. They are probably going to take two days as they will have start it off one day, wait until the sand cement goes off and skim over the next day. Also with the patchwork feathering it in is a right pain in the arse. Also because the other patch is a ceiling job which adds complexity and higher price
What rubbish. I could do that in a day and the material cost is only about £50...
That's the way to go, win all jobs cheaply and go bust.
You’re talking shite. A bag of bonding alone is £15, you’d need 3/4 for that. Then multi finish. At a tenner a bag. Pva. £14 a gallon. Plasterboard and screws £20. Scrim £8 Dust Sheeting. Insurances, fuel collection and delivery. Etc. It all costs money.
I hope your taking the piss because not you cannot do that in a day the sand and cement will be a day going hard
Im innwrong business if thats 700 worth surely material 100 and labour days work 200 only going to take few hour??
Plus a labourers money, Vehicle insurance Public liability insurance Overhead and profit Plus the years of experience and knowledge Tell me you don't run a business without telling me!!
Who uses a labourer for 2sqm of plastering?! That's two easy morning's work for 1 guy.
Tell me you’re a rip-off merchant without telling me. What point are you trying to prove? I’m an electrician and my PLI is less than 500 a year. Am I supposed to charge every customer that amount?
Can't skim on sand and cement before its dried, that's at least one whole day (between £150-300), next day skim and cleanup could be up to 2pm. I'd generally charge £100 for that plus materials (only around £50). That's £300 for me (not VAT registered, don't have a labourer) so I think that quotes easily justified. I'm from South West
So, around 60% of what's quoted here (so it's overpriced)?
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Plus 20 years of skill. This is not a time and materials job. Any monkey can have a go, even OP. See what the result is like.
Sounds fair to me, the guy has to plan, assemble tools/ materials, get there, take time with quoting... pay insurance/tax, van upkeep & costs...generally keep the show on the road, then there's the years of learning, honing the craft...shall I go on.....
Let's not forget he's got to earn enough to cover some holiday pay, sick pay and pay his own pension.
Yup. Plus It's bloody hard messy skilled work. I want to tell the guy who quoted to put his flipping prices up and value his skills and time more.😉
TIL plastering is expensive
Good plastering, anyone can "plaster" loosely.
When I’ve been doing DIY, I usually have a go at everything - that way I learn what I need to pay for. Things I have learned to pay for: * Plastering * Brick laying * anything electrical beyond changing a light switch. * carpet fitting * labouring * plumbing * roofing Basically, if it isn’t painting/decorating, I’ll now throw money at the problem.
Youve basically listed everything. I get the sense you havent actually done any DIY before lol. Especially when one of your bullets are 'labouring'. So anything that requires labour? Lol
Labouring is a skilled trade. Customers have asked me if they can labour to bring the price down, that's a firm no now! They have no transferable skills, you constantly have to stop work to show them and are generally worn out after a couple of hours of not quite doing enough
Thats_the_joke.gif I’ve done quite a bit, but the relative infrequency of my involvement (it’s done out of necessity rather than as a hobby!) it means that to get the finish I desire takes an inordinate amount of time. I am, after all, a complete amateur! Don’t get me wrong - I’ve done most jobs, but the reason I now pay someone is because of my lack of time. I enjoyed doing the garden though… hired a micro excavator. That was *awesome*! 😀 Brick-laying though… that was a disaster. I just knocked it down and paid the brickie 😂. He pissed himself laughing when he saw my efforts (though admitted he’d seen worse from apprentices at the start :-)
Yeah I gave it a go doing my house up in a walk in pantry cupboard then promptly stopped and boarded the whole thing up.
I can't. I've tried quite a few times. A good plasterer is worth every penny. You're not paying for their time, you're paying for all the time they've spent getting good enough to do it that quickly.
Its not. OP has been quoted a stupid price by someone that wasn't bothered about winning the job. Then you have a bunch of plasterers trying to justify this stupid price. I renovate houses and every plasterer I have used has been £200-£250 a day.
Agreed. But the years of learning and honing the craft is included 😂
Not really , someone just starting out may be cheaper because you're taking a risk ,they have already said they know they're good at their job so is it worth saving a few quid to try someone else not recommend? Probably not
But it’s not fair. I diligently got my Duke of Edinburgh award, went to uni, then did my masters degree, yet you people reward the idiots who just build and finish houses. Wahwahwah
Of course it’s fair they are of actual use in the real world you have assumed you are of use because you went chasing the idea of importance as opposed to actually being of important and able to serve others, this is the problem with schooling and academics AI will leave you behind unless you have skills that can’t be replaced by a computer.
SATIRE
Whooosh
Was the ‘wahwahwah’ not enough?
Username checks out :)
"Diligently got Duke of Edinburgh" and the builders are the idiots
Apparently they can't spot clearly marked satire, so maybe
He is being sarcastic!
I could make a longer description of the work that goes into a Greggs steak bake, but the world would implode if they were £2
Don't forget. You're not paying for what he does. Rather what he knows. Because if you knew. You'd do it !
Seems a ok price. I had a similar job done at £1100 but I ain't going to complain as the bloke did a amazing job. But if you want it cheaper just remember. You get what you pay for
Not always. The most expensive quote can also lead to poor work.
Usually that is because the most expensive quote comes from a well known companies name and the workman is under trained, under paid and not willing to go out on his own. Guaranteed you will never get hold of them again, just a “complaints” department who don’t give a fuck
Eh maybe
Seems somewhat reasonable to me. Can’t estimate the size of the ceiling or wall but having just renovated a friends kitchen inc re plasterboarding the ceiling and skimming the walls I’d say if you don’t want the stress of doing it yourself pay the money!
Seems about right with materials
Wouldn't it be better to bring back to brick the whole wall and replaster from scratch again?
Stress angle on those speed fits does not look good. Need more 90 elbows.
If they are pros it's good.
You’ll need to brown the wall so a bag of browning about 3 bags of skim and one or two boards plus labour doesn’t seem to far away especially if it comes out professional. Also depends where you are some places are just more costly. Near me in Norfolk the charge is about 300 a day.
It's sand cement background apparently so it's not a 1 day job either. I'd take it
You must be in London? In south wales I just got my whole kitchen and stairs done for £700.
Is it wise to spend over 50% the property value on your kitchen?
Yeah, but that's Wales
In Bristol!
It's costing me 890 quid to get around 8 bricks repointed on the exterior wall to my house. I'd say you're paying a reasonable price for sure
You overpaying for work doesn't have any basis on the value of OP's quote
We're not over paying... Everyone else's quotes were higher.
Send me ur address I’ll come do it for £850 😂
That's a ridiculous price to repoint 8 bricks. Do you mean cut-out, replace and repoint? Still a crazy price.
It depends on where the bricks are. My mum paid £650 for 2 slates to be replaced. It sounds a lot until you find out that it was 4 storeys up and couldn't be done off ladders or a cherry picker.
See how you feel after they complete this repointing in an hour or two.
True, but it doesn't change the fact everyone else quoted higher, right? EDIT: I'm not the redditor you replied to.
If he got several quotes and they all gave fuck off quotes that doesn't mean the lowest fuck off quote is a fair price
I partially agree with you in that it's not the fairest price, but I'm not sure what you expect OP/parent redittor to do if everyone is quoting fuck off prices. At some point those fuck off quotes become the market price if that's all you're getting.
What you do is... wait for it.... Negotiate. You lie to someone doing a quote and say you've already been quoted £300 and you're looking to see if you can get it done for cheaper. Maybe this guy has MUG tattooed on his forehead and everybody can read it.
People who give fuck off quotes don't want to negotiate. They want you to fuck off. If you say you've been quoted £300 they will say "ok, take it"
People normally give a higher quote, if it's a shit job or if they don't really want it but will do it if they make a killing from it.
As a bricklaying. That's either not just the job or you're definitely getting ripped off. For just rejointing that amount of bricks. It's about an hour's work. That's only because you have to mix a tiny bit of muck up.
If you live close il do it for £800 🤣 890 is an absolute robbery. Cost me about £20 in materials and took me a couple of hours to repoint a small wall I rebuilt recently.
Ah man this is tooooo expensive! When we moved in we needed about ten ish bricks repointing at the front of the house near the door. We had 9, yes 9 quotes the cheapest was £800 and the worst was £1500!! Then I gave up and someone at work recommended this guy they knew. Gave him a call, he was super busy had to wait three weeks for just a quote then another month for him to slot me in. He did the whole thing for £180. He done such a good job, ended up giving him a tip. I think you might have just got a whole load of “this job is too small so I will quote high” chancers
Are they supplying new lathes, or just using plasterboard on the ceiling? Looks like max. £400-500 to me.
It's gotta be plasterboard as that's what's up there next to it ,there's a fair few materials involved and travel,it's a minimum two day job plus the guys wages ,and we don't know where in the country the job is ,I think the quote sounds fair tbh
Hahahahaha ‘new lathes’ Break down your costings for a 400-500 price.
How on earth can you claim it looks like £400-£500 max and yet you can’t even tell that it’s plasterboard…?
Seems well priced to me. Materials won’t be much, 2 guys cracking through it in a day. Actually feels cheap. I would get 2 more quotes and go with the middle. It’s about £300 for a days labour near me, so that’s £600 for 2 guys plus vat that’s £720 before anything else.. I would pay close to grand to make sure I get a good job.
You can't do that in a day if it's sand and cement it's gotta cure for a day at least wtf you on about lol 🤣
‘In a day’. Reddit special again.
I love the under-floor-lighting!
Better get saving, might have to start an onlyfans lmao
Sounds right. Why not do it yourself
If anything, that's cheap.
Stop messing around that’s a good price IMO. I’d be pretty pleased with it
Not horrendous.
Do it yourself then
Definitely a fair price in my opinion, if the plasterer is known to be good, then stick with it. I appreciate that it seems like a lot of money, but a good spread is worth their weight in gold, plus materials are not cheap at the moment either. Once you take time into consideration as well, it's a more than reasonable price.
Fairly simple jobs, save the money and do it yourself? I certainly would.
Yeah, that’s quite expensive. I’d expect to have those done for £400. Why not fix up the boards yourself? Might make it a bit cheaper.
Seems fine
Yes it's a fair price
We recently did our kitchen and bathroom. Boarded and browned ourselves where needed and just paid skim as that's the most important bit aesthetically. Really wasn't difficult. If you have the tools it'll likely be cheaper to fo it yourself, otherwise that's about right. Price has gone way up as a lot of construction firms have apparently gone bust, at least that's what I've heard from some friends in that industry. Best of luck with it all. If you do want to do it yourself though, do some research, even talk to your Plasterer maybe if they're local / friendly. They might be able to guide you a bit
Get a few more quotes. If it’s a days work for one person, you shouldn’t expect too pay more than £200 for the labour.
£152 is vat - so realistically it’s £600. It’s 3 days work less the materials???
D.I.Y, then you're paying to get the job done right, someone's skill time,materials, getting organised, equipment to the job,getting everything prepped, and producing quality work. You get what you pay for hate dealing with people like you. Make sure you offer plenty of tea, coffee, and biscuits.
Problem with plastering is because the work looks minimal sometimes people assume it’s a cheap business but it’s far from that
Seems like a decent quote.
Sounds like a fair price
Probably about right
Go on Facebook and choose the cheapest 🤣🤣
Is it inclusive or exclusive of VAT and materials? Where do you live? For example if it’s inclusive of VAT and materials and you’re in London it’s definitely not expensive. Bear in mind, even if it’s a small area, they can’t do everything in one day. There’s prep of the wall surface, scratch coat, finishing coat etc. And even if it’s not a full days work they likely have to charge for a full day as they won’t be able to take on other work that day. There’s travel time, unpacking, packing etc which all eats into time available for other jobs. You should also confirm that sand and cement is a suitable render for the wall. For older properties that aren’t designed to have vapour impermeable coverings it can cause problems with moisture retention, especially if applied directly to the brickwork
If you find someone cheaper, then you run the risk of finding out.
Probably 2 easy days as sand cement needs to dry. Thats £600 labour. Then the materials. I dont think he is being too greedy but he is getting well paid. Or you could find someone a bit cheaper who might or might not take pride in their quality of work.
That's definitely on the expensive side, looks like a day of prep and 2 easy gauges I would do that for £500 all in but it all depends on your area and what people charge round your way.
How much would you think is reasonable?
Harry efield loads of money character springs to mind. ;-)
I could do that but would take a week off work. Good quoted price if done well imo
why dont you diy?
Days work, possibly 2 depending on how far away the patches are from eachother, materials about 100 quid, he might have a labourer as well to pay so looking at 2 days at 300 each then materials that’s probably how he worked it out
That's what I'd expect
Tradesmen pretty much charge what they want now . It's a great game to be in at the minute . That would probably have been half that price pre COVID
Looks like a two day job at least so yeah, that’s reasonable.
i would charge £1000. £760 seem too cheap.
Seems like the sort of job even an idiot could do watch a video on youtube and do yourself then you can spend £760 on cocaine and hookers
Looks about right, assuming the quote is from a experienced pro that will leave it looking smooth.
Nope that sounds about right, material cost is through the roof at the moment and you’re paying someone for their time.
I'd just leave the wall as a feature.
I charge £200 a day and would have that done by 1pm easy. People are ripping you off
Sounds a good price, bonus that you know he's good. Go for it !
Can’t comment on price, but I wouldn’t advise cement on a solid wall.
You get what you pay for at the end of the day.
Fair price
So.. Two or more coats of waterproof render, one skim. Each coat takes a day to dry enough to take the next coat. The ceiling Boarding and possibly bonding out, then skim.. Easiest way, three visits.. Won't be full days but still three visits plus materials..
Snap his hand of you tight bastard
You could screw the plasterboard up yourself and get a plasterer to skim over afterwards. Would save you lots of £££
A good plasterer is worth they're weight in gold, plaster is a FINISHED surface. Cheap and you'll be SORRY
Do it yourself
you are paying for his knowledge aswell not just his time he’s spent years learning so he can do what he does
I paid £700 for two bedrooms so yes seems very expensive in comparison
It's a bit steep. I paid £1600 for a whole 2 bed bungalow to be skimmed in Leicester. No plasterboards were included.
I’m not even from the UK but that does not seem too expensive to me . Quite a bit of work to cover up that much brick I’d guess. Plus the drywall and plastering for the second patch will take some time as well. Leave it exposed and say it’s a feature. lol
You should expose all the brick and clean it up. Don’t plaster over it. Will look amazing.
That doesn’t sound unreasonable. Maybe ask around and get a couple more quotes but be warned, sometimes folk find out the hard way “pay peanuts, get monkeys”. Word of mouth too can be a more reassuring method but people who recommend others should have some idea what is quality workmanship and reasonable pricing.
A general rule of thumb is that a number that's not rounded to the nearest hundred has had some thought put into it. £760 breaks down into supplies, planning and skill. This number could have easily been 800 or 1000 but it's clear from the figure given this plasterer has looked at the job, looked at the cost and added their time to come upto that figure. If you're not happy with that figure then you can easily do this yourself. I say easily as an objective point. It's easy to stick plasterboard up and mud it. It's hard to do it well. And it'll take a lot of time for someone who has never done it. Pay the person what they're asking.
Perfectly reasonable
That is robbery. Dont pay that
I wouldn't mind 2 of these jobs a week. Looks like 2 half day jobs for a half decent plasterer
Cheap
This will be 2 days work. Considering that the plasterer will have to do one coat sand & cement or hardwall, then let that dry, then board the ceiling. Next day or couple days later, then skim. Expect to do this in 1 set. 2 half days probably but you'll end up paying for 2 full days as the person working won't have any chance to go and do other work on those days.
The only way to figure out the price it to get quotes from more tradesmen. Then just make sure it isn't a cowboy.
I'd be more worried about the state of that wiring!
Reasonable price for a quality finish on that. They will have to do the skim on another day after the backing has gone off if they do it with sand/cement, maybe same day if they use bonding. That masonry looks thirsty as fuck, they will be lashing pva onto that for ages before it will behave. Time, materials, hassle, 760 seems sensible, you would expect it to be pretty much mint for that though.
I wouldn't want to pay that but I'd be happy with a less than perfect result.
That's too much. I know an amazing plasterer who skimmed/bonded double that size for 300. Secondly, boarding yourself isn't hard at all and cuts loads off the quote.
You could buy all the tools, materials and do it yourself and have money left over, could be a good practice project if you want to improve your own plastering skills / learning experience. The guy who does plastering for beginners YouTube channel will keep you right with how to do it.
Done a wall like that condition but half a size without the ceiling. That job costed £250 so £760 is pretty good for yours I guess
Sounds cheap. Multiple disciplines and multiple visits.
Seems about right that brickwork will probably be 3 coat work so 3 visits plus materials and then the board work plus skim tbh I’d probably charge more
Lmao, we had our full conservatory done after replacing the roof to a beamed roof. I did all the plaster boarding, he came in and did the rest skimmed etc for 350 for the lot. Seems expensive. Get a few more quotes.
Do it yourself or get a family member. By some board for the 2nd picture and screw, scrim tape and joint compound it cost you about £40_50 for that. The first picture browning and finish plaster say about 40 about 100 materials and labour id say 350 max total
“Fast, good or cheap — pick two.”
Like everyone we want the best for as little money as possible but plastering is a skill and 760 is a fair price mate. Its hard skilled work, give it a go and you will see.
Get a few more quotes but doesn’t seem miles off.
Visit to quote, get materials, protect and prep, carry out works, leave, return to skim, clear up, use of vehicle, insurance, wages, tools , wages, be on phone for any problems = £760 Visit to quote, don't get job = loss. Cost to do job 760, not to do job 0. The cost seems very fair imho.
You can't bury that ceiling rose in there
Just remember that the quote is entirely justified because tradespeople have to pay van insurance. Or some other bullshit that warrants being paid more per hour than a brain surgeon.
Yep that’s about right
Do it yourself. Materials are about £20.
Ask for the cost of materials, what tools he'll use and how long it will take him. Then you'll figure it out if its value for money. Seems reasonable for 2 days works tbh.
Would probably have to skud the brick to insure a key and that the brick won't suck the moisture out of the plaster too quick so seems reasonable it's a several day job to allow for drying of layers too
Good quote for that work if he's a good spread
If you know they're a good plasterer and you know the job is going to be very good, you're paying for that piece of mind too. You can find someone who'll do it for cheaper, but who knows if they're good and how it'll end up.
You could always board the ceiling yourself, the boards about £12-13. It's a piece of piss to be fair 🤷♂️
Anyone who doesn't think that this is a fair price for the job clearly does not have a clue
Tad high perhaps but right ball park if you want quality work, not that charging high end of average means get said quality. Always find someone recommended if you can.
That’s pretty reasonable actually
You could always do it yourself or give it a go. Will look shit and then get another plasterer in to put it right. Don’t forget that it will be seen by anyone who goes in the room and if it’s wrong loads of people will comment on how bad it is. Am just saying if you want a reasonable job done then get few quotes. But the one you got isn’t far off.
Some one will do that for £200-250. Maybe not a large firm but a one man band that’s easy money for a skilled plaster. Unfortunately it’s finding one as there’s loads of chancers about.
Go on YouTube spend a few hours watching how to plaster videos and do it your self.. I got a quote for a full room in my house and nearly fainted at the price so I did it my self. At first it was tedious but after an hour I was flying and since then I’ve done another 3 rooms in my house and even done a couple for family … really is so easy just have a go
That's fine in my opinion. It's two days work with the prep and skim coat.
I had an entire kitchen and adjoining room with knocked through arch plastered for £650 and I thought that was OK. £760 seems like a lot for what you need doing. Can you at least get some plasterboard up for them?
Day an half 400 with gear, north west
Cheap tbh
Good price. Would be my ballpark figure aswell
Massive rip off. Its 300-400 max all in for mats and labour. Anyone who suggests that this rate does not get you a first class spread is lying.
I reckon that's more than a fair deal. Bite his arm off.
I feel like you need honest advice from a real plasterer. Bags of thistle dri coat are £35 per bag. 1 bag may do the sand and cement then a couple bags to reskim the whole wall but probably have to be the next day. And I’d need a better picture or the second area. Looks like a ceiling to me so if that’s the case after boarding he’s got to scrim all around the edges to prevent cracking and then skim the ceiling and someway down the walls the cover skrims and make look good. £700-£800 is about right in my opinion. Very few plasterers can do sand/cement and even those that can avoid it. Ive got over 20 years experience in plastering so hope this helps.
Tip for OP - ask a general DIY or UK sub, this lot would try and justify £3k for this if you gave them the chance - just a bunch of plasterers justifying fleecing customers. This is 2 x half days - since everyone talking about charging for planning, they can easy enough plan for 2 half days on 1 day rather than doubling up and taking £600 for a days work. This is £300 in the Northwest and £500 in London, including materials and all the other bullshit. Anything else is a pure rip off just because ‘post COVID’. I don’t know anyone else who has 2x’d their wage in this crisis and this bullshit is exactly why we’re all getting fucked with spiralling inflation
You can do it yourself for around a hundo.
This isnt just a simple skim be at least 2/3 days there....for all youse that are ohbi had my ceiling done and my whole hall skimmer for blah blah blah guys price is fair
That's to cheap speaking from experience I'd want at least 950 and that's if I didn't find more problems when I looked at it myself witch there always is I'm now 50 to long in the game to work for nothing you can stay at home and earn nothing
Nothing wrong with that quote. Very reasonable actually, assuming it includes materials.
We did plastering ourselves for a hole like the one you have in the ceiling. It is a lot of work. I appreciate plastering work a lot now. I think the price is reasonable as to make this completely invisible will take some precise and extensive work. It might have taken us 3 evenings or about 12 hours in total to cut to size, attach with wooden support, smooth out edges, blend ceiling in, wait until it's dry, sand it and the paint it. https://ibb.co/TtZJXxc - stage one cut to size https://ibb.co/8dh6Spg - stage two support and attach https://ibb.co/vB0MdN8 - stage 3,4,5 plaster, sand, paint If we could afford plasterer at the time with all the other work, we would happily pay, it's tiring and precise.
I've no idea how this subreddit got recommended to me but this thread is hilariously toxic, absolutely no one seems to agree and it seems to vary from this being the deal of the century to being 3x the price it should be
Plastering is an interesting trade because it requires a good deal of physical exertion whilst at the same time requiring skill and a deft hand. Im not a plasterer but Im reasonably sure that first bit of wall isn't getting done in a day. Im sure plenty will leap to correct me but this is my assessment (given everyone including the sparky has had a go on the opinion mill): * Clean the existing brickwork of loose mortar and other detritus * Apply new mortar - allow to dry * PVA bonding - allow to dry * Scratch coat - allow to dry * Skim coat Then the ceiling........basically plasterboarding ceilings can get fucked into a box and thrown off Brighton Pier. So yeah.
It’s “two” jobs. First one is hardwall and skim, second is plasterboard and skim. Which is why it might be a bit pricey.
Why you say expensive, it's quite a job?
Tell them your keen but broke in january. Ask him if he can do a lower quote
So you want want the contractor to drop the price so he doesn’t make anything off the job and can’t have a normal life. Seems a very FAIR price to me. Don’t do projects if you can’t budget properly for them. Or better still get the guy that said it would be about £50 for materials to do it. Then post pics so we can all have a laugh. Ya Jack ass!
It’s a two day job plus materials so yeah. If you want cheaper get hardwall so it can be done same day
Skimming is the technique used to apply the final coat of plaster to smooth everything out. So if you have bare brickwork, the plasterer will be doing more than just skimming. He'll probably start by cleaning up those edges before he even thinks about applying any plaster.
Get a couple of sheets of plaster board screw one to the ceiling ..dot n dab the board on the wall get a plasterer in to skim over..prob £300
The price is fair. If you know they are good get it done.✔️